Vacation prep

The ONLY thing I dislike about going on vacation is the chaos of the days before you leave and after you return.

Work-wise you have to tie up loose ends, delegate those left dangling, and try to anticipate everything that might come up while you're gone.

On the homefront, you have to guess what you might want to be wearing five days later, and what the weather might be like, launder accordingly, and pack. I also like to scrub down our house before we leave on a trip. At the end of vacation it feels so good to walk into a clean, pulled-together home and sleep in just-washed sheets.

Then there are all these little details to remember -- putting your newspapers on hold, enlisting someone to water your plants, stopping by the library and the bank. And vacation prep usually requires a trip to The Place I Hate, Wal-Mart, for sunscreen, bottled water and other trip necessities.

But none of this hassle can make me lose sight of the fact that we're going on vacation tomorrow. Hooray!

Carrie, I'm sorry we're missing your birthday. Happy birthday!

Lauren, thank you for covering for me while I'm gone!